Back To School In Jeffco: Public Heath Officials Issue Guidance

JEFFERSON COUNTY, CO — New back-to-school guidance was issued Friday in Jefferson County.

Jefferson County Public Health is recommending that all students, teachers and staff wear masks in schools, regardless of their vaccination status.

Schools and districts are also urged to implement testing, isolation and quarantine protocols.

County public health officials issued the following list of guidelines:

• Ask your district or school leaders for COVID-19 vaccination rates among students and faculty/staff at your school. Encourage school leadership to require vaccination for faculty and staff who are caring for your child. Those responsible for caring for your child at school should be willing to do everything they can to protect them, including being vaccinated. Encourage school leadership to promote vaccination rates for eligible students at your school. Vaccination rates of at least 70 percent among eligible students will also provide better protection for your student. Many schools have worked very hard to help students and staff get vaccinated, and we thank and congratulate them on their efforts.
• Encourage your district or school leaders to prioritize in-person education over school-based extracurricular activities. Ask school leadership if they are requiring vaccination for all eligible extracurricular participants — including students, coaches, officials and other adult volunteers — or if they are requiring at least weekly testing for any participants who are unvaccinated. While school-based extracurricular activities are important to young people’s growth and development, in-person education must be prioritized. Unvaccinated individuals participating in extracurricular activities should not be allowed to endanger your child’s ability to receive a disruption-free, in-person education. If parents are particularly concerned about avoiding in-person education disruptions, you may also consider limiting your child’s participation in school-based extracurricular activities if your school does not require COVID-19 vaccination for all eligible participants.
• Review the newly released back-to-school guidance from CDC and school and childcare guidance from JCPH, and encourage your school to follow these guidelines. Recently updated guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC and JCPH recommend mask-wearing indoors at schools for everyone, regardless of vaccination. Ask school leadership if they will be requiring masks to help protect students, and if they are not, encourage them to do so. Masks are safe, are effective in reducing viral transmission, and can help decrease disruptions to in-person education due to illness, quarantine, and outbreaks. Ask your child to wear a mask and help them learn how to wear it properly for maximum protection.

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“Jeffco’s children have already given up so much in the last year and a half," said Dr. Dawn Comstock, executive director of Jefferson County Public Health. "It’s on all of us to help make sure they don’t lose any more by missing out on in-person learning and beloved school-based extracurriculars because of illness, quarantines or outbreaks.

“We all have a role to play in keeping our community and our community’s kids safe. If you haven’t already, get vaccinated now. If you’re in a school setting – regardless of if you’re a student, teacher, staff member or parent – we strongly urge you to wear a mask at all times. In-person educational activities must be emphasized, prioritized, and protected; they are simply too important to our children to allow them to be endangered.”

Around 45 percent of teenagers ages 12-15 and around 40 percent of young people ages 16-24 have not received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine in Jefferson County, public health officials said.

“Parents and caregivers should also talk to your children about returning to school safely, and help make sure they have the tools to make safe choices,” Comstock said. “Most importantly, please don’t let your guard down. The COVID-19 pandemic is not yet over.”

County public health officials are set to hold a town hall for parents, caregivers and community members from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Aug. 12 to discuss back-to-school guidelines. You can learn more about the town hall here.

>> Learn more about how to get vaccinated in Jefferson County here.